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Dib Membrane
Dib is an eccentric young boy who is obsessed with the paranormal. He is the brother of Gaz and the son of Professor Membrane, as well as Zim's greatest nemesis. He attends school with Zim, and is determined to stop him from conquering Earth and expose him as an alien, though almost nobody believes him. He is highly unpopular at school and at home for said obsession with the paranormal, and is often dismissed as "crazy" or "insane." In Issue #0 of the Invader Zim comic "TruthShrieker", it is confirmed that Dib's (and Gaz's) last name is "Membrane". He is the author of an article about Zim's mysterious dissapearance and the article is by "Dib Membrane". Appearance Dib is 11-13 Earth years old (during seasons 1-3) and resembles his father Professor Membrane. Both have black, scythe-like hair; in Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom Dib's got more jagged and bigger with age. Many people claim that Dib's head is big, a running gag in the show; but it's not visibly bigger. The redesign process God Save the Dib, however, actually gave him a bigger head. His hair spike seems to be solid, and retains its shape even when getting wet. It took a water balloon of ridiculous proportions dropped from Earth's orbit and a second normal water balloon in order to get it to bend, as seen in The Wettening. Dib seems to be able to zip-line with his hair spike (using the spike as the runners), as seen in Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars. Likewise, it seems solid enough to punch through a brick wall like any part of his body if Dib is flung hard enough, as seen in Mortos der Soulstealer. He wears a pair of round glasses and a trademark black trench coat along with a blue shirt with an unsmiling grey face on it, pulled directly from Squee!, in which the main character, Todd, also known as Squee, wears exactly the same shirt. Personality Dib is separated from the rest of his peers by his exceptional intelligence and determination, and he continues to seek out the paranormal despite the considerable ridicule he receives from both peers and family. He considers himself to be the sole defender of Earth against Zim's plans of conquest, and rightly so; he is in fact the only one who knows and cares that Zim is an Irken Invader bent on world destruction. When Zim first landed on Earth, Dib was initially shown to be more antagonistic, obsessed and desperate, making it his sole goal in life to expose Zim as an alien by any means necessary. However, he eventually realized that any efforts to reveal Zim would be wasted on his oblivious peers, and Dib eventually lost his obsessive, desperate edge, becoming a more humorous and more sympathetic character overall. Dib shares his father's scientific and technological prowess, with skills that far exceed the average human being: He has been known to created advanced technology entirely from scratch (for example, an advanced water balloon-launching apparatus). These skills aren't limited to just Earth-based technology, either; Dib has on multiple occasions proven a keen understanding of Irken technology as well, whether it be hacking into Zim's base, reverse-engineering a rogue Invader's crashed vessel or remotely flying the Irken flagship itself. Past with Mysterious Mysteries Dib is also obsessed with his favourite television show, Mysterious Mysteries. He even got to make an appearance on the show in the episode 'Mysterious Mysteries' (though he has evidently appeared on it before; that occasion resulted in the host of the show somehow acquiring a scar on his face, though how is unknown). He tried to prove that Zim is an alien on that episode, but the host concluded that he was crazy. He also concluded that GIR was "definitely crazy" and that, while he felt bad for the "green kid" but states that there was probably a good chance that he was also crazy... but not an alien. Role in Invader Zim Even though he's antagonistic towards Zim (who's interpreted as an anti-hero), Dib can be considered a hero. This means that while he's technically a hero, he's considered to be an antagonist in Zim's point of view. He's declared himself "Sole Defender of Earth", and is there to thwart Zim's plans, but the two have teamed up on more than one occasion when it benefits them both (such as in "Bolognius Maximus"). Reputation "]]Dib is often called "crazy" or "insane" and is constantly mocked for his theories. He even got put in a "Crazy Bucket", a possible alternative to a straitjacket. Overall, most of his classmates try to ignore him. Dib is also known by NASAPlace and even the FBI for his paranormal-related antics. He's been on the front page of the newspaper twice (shown in "Dark Harvest" and Mortos der Soulstealer), so it is likely that a good deal of the city is aware of the trouble he frequently ends up in. Beliefs He believes Zim and GIR are the "bad guys", while he and Gaz are the "good guys" who are Earth's last hope against the coming alien invaders. He makes every effort to stop the two at every possible turn (although he tends to disregard GIR). This often leads to increased social difficulties at Skool, as they are constantly making a scene in class or in the cafeteria. As Agent Mothman Agent Mothman is Dib's secret agent name for The Swollen Eyeball Network. It is unknown how long he has been a part of the network, but all the other operatives seem to know who he is and his reputation for being crazy. Dib seems on better terms, however, with Agent Darkbootie. Darkbootie has helped Dib at least once in "Battle of the Planets," and gave him a chance to present the Network with all of his findings on Zim in "Battle-Dib." Dib is also less ridiculed by Agent Tunaghost, who helped him in "Gaz, Taster of Pork." The rest of the agents either find him annoying, crazy, or a disgrace to the Network. "Head" Gag Repeated cracks about the size of Dib's head have been made ever since a line of GIR's in "Door to Door" ("Whyyy is his heeead so biiig?"). Since this episode, jokes about Dib's head have been made in just about every episode. * In "Battle of the Planets," Professor Membrane said that Dib has been monitoring Mars since he was a baby with an "ENORMOUS HEAD!" * In "Future Dib," when the robot gnomes shoved him in the cage, his head didn't quite fit. * In "Tak: The Hideous New Girl," Invader Zim said that "Despite his large head, the Dib-monkey is quite stupid." Dib protested against this, but Zim didn't catch it. * In "Gaz, Taster of Pork," the Mysterious Mysteries anchor described him as a boy with "the largest head", accompanied by a picture of Dib's head that is captioned with "Still growing?". Later, when Dib was going through a list of spells on his Spelldrive, he said, "Too bad, a smaller head would be cool." * In "Mysterious Mysteries," one of Dib's classmates asked: "What's up with his head?" (which was ironic, considering the bizarre knot that is located on that particular student's forehead). The anchor in "Gaz, Taster of Pork" also described him as a boy with a "horribly large head", and Dib's introductory slide captioned him as a "large-headed believer". * In "Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars," Zim said, "...And to make it even sweeter, I'll land the Massive right on top of your landing-pad-size monster of a head which is disturbingly large!". Dib ran away screaming while saying, "Quit making fun of my head!" * In "Walk for Your Lives," when Dib fell out of Zim's garbage chute and into a neighbor's lap, she said, "Hey, look at that! It's one of them big-head boys!" * In "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom," the (nonexistent) Meekrob told Dib that "no one else had a head large enough to accommodate so much power." * In "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom," Gaz asked him, "Why do you have to have a head?" * In "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom," numerous cracks were made about Dib's Head. The nightmare version of himself even told him his head is big, to which Dib replied, "My head's not big! Why does everyone say that?". Later, when a trick-or-treater shouted "Trick or treat!", Dib randomly shouted out, "My head's not big!" Finally, toward the climax of the episode, he appeared to have begun to accept his head's size, thinking, "maybe my head IS big..." * In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff," GIR's field of vision described the Dib hologram as "Big Head Boy." * In "Vindicated!," Invader Zim was shown to be thinking ". . . It's the size of a hippo, that head." * In "The Voting of the Doomed," Zim brought up Dib's head as part of his campaign, saying "Just what does Willy plan on doing about the size of Dib's giant head?" * In "The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot," a foreign ambassador asked the Professor, "Who is the big-headed boy?". * In "The Frycook What Came from All That Space," Tallest Purple asked "Who's that large-headed kid?" when Dib called them. Facts of Doom * Dib is among the most antisocial character in the show; he has no friends due to most of the other Skoolchildren ridiculing and bullying him most of the time. The only person who is more antisocial is his own sister, who seems to actively despise humanity because they seem to interfere with her life all the time. * The episode Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom seems to suggest that, like his sister Gaz, Dib may have been granted phenomenal powers and abilities far beyond those of normal humans. These abilities may have been given to him by the Meekrob in Dib's dreamlike illusion. * At some point in his life, he tried to raise the dead, as referenced by Professor Membrane twice in Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars. It is inferred that he succeeded, as Membrane shouts "There better not be any walking dead up there!" * Despite his determination, he loses far more battles against Zim than he wins. Even when he wins, his plans don't work out the way he plans them. Before the seventh or so script, his profile on Nick.com said he was never able to win. * A misconception of the end of Future Dib is that he aged, but he'd been there for a month and the beard was most likely a momentary gag. * The creators took a liking to his unique hairstyle, and in Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom, they wanted it to grow into a longer, more jagged, lightning-bolt shape. * Although perceived as insane, he is in many ways the most sane and human character in the series. * His Swollen Eyeball codename may derive from the legend of Mothman, who would appear right before a disaster as a warning. * Whenever he talks to Tak's ship and Zim's Dib Robot (both share Dib's personality) he starts to notice why people see him as obnoxious. * Dib is Jhonen Vasquez's favorite character in the show. * In the commentary for Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy, Jhonen Vasquez jokingly stated that the original idea for the episode was for Zim to kill Dib permanently, and for Dib to be replaced with a new kid named Louie. However, Nickelodeon wouldn't permit it. * Dib is one of the two characters to have technically died on the show, the second being Skoodge. * On Verizon cable, in the summary for Mysterious Mysteries, Dib's name is misspelled as "Dub" rather than "Dib". * Dib had a yellow shirt in the pilot. * Dib was first seen in a commercial for Invader Zim before it premiered; the commercial started off seemingly as a typical Nickelodeon bumper, until it was interrupted by Dib, who stated "Zim is coming!" * On Nickelodeon an Invader Zim special aired before the premiere, and at one part they "call" Dib. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF-cgy-uOwE * Dib is not playable in Nicktoons MLB, but he has a collectible card. The card mentions that he knows that there is 'alien activity' going on in the major leagues and that he is undergoing psychological screening. However, the card does not acknowledge Dib knowing or caring that his sister is partnering with his mortal enemy. * Dib makes an appearance in 3 of Snafu's webcomics: PowerPuff Girls Doujinshi, Grim Tales, and Invader Zim: Manifest Doom. * Dib also makes an appearance in The Night After School series on DeviantART. * Dib's Japanese voice actress (Ayumi Kida) also voiced Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory, and the two characters show some similarities. * According to the creators, if the show had continued Dib would have discovered that he was a clone or creation of Professor Membrane's rather than a naturally-produced biological son. * According to polls on the internet, Dib is the most liked character in the show (other than GIR of course). * Dib's glasses, like many cartoon characters', seem to contort to his facial expression on many an occasion. However, not only do his glasses reflect his expression, but they sometimes disappear when he closes his eyes; his glasses also don't have earpieces. As a result, the only way to tell when he's wearing glasses or not is if you look for the nose piece, signified as a straight line connecting his eyes. * It can be interpreted that some of the "big head" insults towards Dib might not be literal; since nobody believes Dib's claims of paranormal activity, they may viewing him as arrogant/self-centered, or "big headed". * It has been implied that Dib is quite self-loathing, possibly to the point of suicide; in Tak: The Hideous New Girl, Dib reprograms Tak's ship to have his memories and reflect his personality, and it immediately crashes itself. * In the Invader Zim comics (or at least the first issue), Dib's eyes seem to switch between different colors, mostly brown (like in the cartoon), grey, purple, and blue. It hasn't been explained why this occurs. ** Dib also seems to have hair on the back of his head (instead of just on top). This hasn't been explained either. Voice Actor Dib is portrayed by Andy Berman in the original American version and by Ayumi Kida in the Japanese dub of the show. In the German dub, he is voiced by Tobias Müllter, and in the Spanish dub, he is voiced by Carlos Enrique Bonilla and Eduardo Garza on one occasion.http://es.doblaje.wikia.com/wiki/Invasor_Zim Invasor Zim on doblaje wikia References See also * Complete Filmography * Dib and Zim's Relationship * Dib and GIR's Relationship * Dib and Gaz's Relationship * Dib and Tak's Relationship * Dib and Professor Membrane's Relationship * Ms. Bitters and Dib's Relationship * Dib:Screenshots External links * Interview with Jhonen Vasquez es:Dib pt:Dib Category:Main Characters Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Skool Students Category:Skoolchildren Category:Dib's Family Category:Human Category:Insane Category:Screenshots